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#or that belos may find out
notllorstel · 2 years
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Can we see the full colored design of bell in staff form?
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Porple sworly
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shrimpatheticx · 10 days
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Drained [Malleus Draconia X Reader]
when I read this part of malleus' dorm vignette I DIED. RIP malleus' previous phones.
again, this will be in female's pov. read it platonic or romantic, it is up to you. not proofread.
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"We seem to be... lost," Y/N whispered.
"Perhaps they may have lost sight of us," replied Malleus. "I don't even see Asim's carpet."
Feeling her pocket, Y/N pulled out her phone. "Dammit, Grim," she whispered. "Hey, Tsunotarou?"
"Yes, Child of man?"
"Can I borrow your phone? Grim drained our cell again playing Tuna Crush."
"Phone... Ah, you mean that small device you humans love." He pulled out his, checking the newly found knowledge Lilia thought him. "My "battery percentage" seems to be at 3%. It is enough battery for one object, should it not be 1%?"
"Oh no. We better call the others before it drains out, too. Quick, hand it over!"
Malleus wasted no time giving his phone to the prefect. Observing the human in their natural habitat, he was staring intently how she would use his belongings. "Are you... disgusted by it?"
"M... Maybe," she weakly answered. "Tsuno, when was the last time you cleaned your phone?"
"The last time I did, Lilia gave me a stern lecture. I could not go through with it again. The answer would be, never."
"Is this mud? I can see bits of dirt but..."
"I apologize. How unbecoming of me. Perhaps I should use wind magic instead of water to clean the device?"
"You used water?? No wonder Lilia scolded you," Y/N answered. "Don't worry. I have some tissues and alcohol in my pocket."
Again, Malleus was just observing. He noticed how gently her hands rubbed on the screen. "This is how you clean phones," she said, though it went past his head as he fondly watched the sight. "There, see? All squeaky clean!"
"Yes," he replied. "Now we can contact the others and know their location."
Y/N pushed the switch once. And then twice. And then holding the switch button before an image of a red battery blinked on the screen.
"What's the matter?"
"Your phone... is drained, as well."
"I thought it was still at 3%?"
"Yeah, a few minutes ago. Either we need to charge, or we wait for others to come find us."
"If a simple charge is what you wish." Malleus raised his hand as thunders started to crackle in the air. "Then a "charge" I shall deliver."
"Tsunotarou--NO!" She quickly pulled his hand down. "This is not how you charge phones! It won't handle as powerful as lightning!"
Malleus pouted but softened at her touch. It may look like she used her whole body to lower his hand, but it felt like a gentle touch. Though, her feet were swaying a meter off the ground.
"I apologize. That was also part of Lilia's lecture. I seem to have forgotten."
"It's fine, just--- We'll just wait, ok?"
"It is uncertain when will the others find us. Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm with you. I don't mind."
"You... don't mind?"
"Yes."
"Even if it is for a long time?"
"Yes."
"You cleaned something that belongs to me, and now you are willing to spend your short lifespan by my side?"
"That's... Well, yes."
The dark clouds quickly dispersed.
"Then I'll savor my time with you, my belo--"
"AT LONG LAST, THERE YOU ARE!" Sebek's voice boomed. And the dark looming clouds returned once again.
"Mmraah! Where have you been henchman? I'm tired lookin' for ya!" Grim followed.
"Well, that was quick," Y/N chuckled.
"Too quick," muttered Malleus.
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sepublic · 1 year
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            I love ragging on Belos but also DAMN he’s fiendishly clever. Like let’s analyze his ‘reunion’ with the Collector;
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         Gets caught, Collector is suspicious and scared? Belos immediately calms him down by making the Collector feel in control over his own spell he openly doubted, pointing to the moon symbol on Raine’s forehead; Telling this kid not to worry about his most immediate question! And then Belos justifies the anomaly by playing along with the wishful fantasy rules of a kid who believes in the magic of friendship! Anything can happen, so no need to question any further, he flatters the child.
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         Then there’s his next line, in which Belos warns the Collector that he’s in danger, which is incredibly vague and could mean anything; And in the couple of seconds it takes the Collector to react in derision, Belos figures out he needs to be more specific and how to elaborate on this, claiming someone is going to betray the Collector.
         Note that he never name-drops anyone on his own, because Belos doesn’t really know who’s around the Collector, other than Odalia. But just in case, he keeps it vague so the Collector can provide an answer for him, the first person he’d assume, and thus the one whose betrayal he fears the most: King!
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         Belos latches onto that. He sees King isn’t here, so he asks where is he? Note he doesn’t give an answer, doesn’t make any claims because he doesn’t KNOW anything. Belos is trying to avoid saying something that can be contradicted later on, so he keeps it vague by throwing a very simple, ‘safe’ question that nevertheless makes the kid doubt.
         The Collector watches, is reassured, looks back to Belos to brag! Then he checks again, sees what King said, and looks away. The kid is concerned, but he’s not jumping to any conclusions, and you may think, oh! This is where he checks again, just to be sure.
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         And that’s when Belos drops the bombshell; Luz is here. And as he so cleverly plans, this revelation shocks the Collector, distracting them from checking on King again to hear what he ACTUALLY meant. Because Belos doesn’t know for sure how genuine King is or not, but either way, the less this kid is actually in touch with the outside world, the easier it is for Belos to control the narrative and filter all information through himself. The kid has seen enough to doubt, no need for him to find out more and potentially clarify.
         Likewise, Belos has been manipulating this kid for hundreds of years; Like it or not, the Collector is the longest relationship he’s ever had in his life, by a long shot. He knows the kid’s psychology in and out, he knows exactly which buttons to press, and he guesses at how jealous the Collector can get. If he’s friends with King and holds him in high regard, then King has probably told him about Luz during the time they’ve been hanging out. 
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        And that Collector is an insecure kid… So Belos creates an Us VS Them scenario, plays into the Collector’s worst fears of King replacing him for Luz (gee, it’s like Philip speaks these insecurities from experience). The fact that Belos himself contributed deeply to the Collector’s trust issues, and is now using them is just. Ugh.
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         Now Luz is something Belos DOES know about, having inhabited Hunter, knowing she followed right behind him and does plan to change things, and herself doesn’t know any more than he does; If anything, she knows less! So Belos is a lot more free to make claims about Luz’s motives and goals here, because he actually knows them for the most part. Luz is something Belos can guarantee and thus reliably interpret for the Collector to support his claim.
        That creates an unpredictable element that unsettles the kid, pair that up with the ambiguity of what King said (never checked back on, due to Belos diverting the Collector’s attention) and you’ve got the perfect recipe to manipulate this child all over again… An empty sandbox the Collector can’t verify from which Belos can craft a new narrative with, and anytime something comes along that can be interpreted in its favor, like the ending of the episode? You betcha.
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         God he’s so smart, so confident that you might not even notice at first how baseless Belos’ claims are. You’d understandably think he actually DID somehow know, and wasn’t just adapting and having good luck in guessing! Imagine society if Belos weaponized his autism for actual good.
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child-of-the-nights · 10 months
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Various characters on your birthday
A/N: So this is very self indulgent because yesterday was my birthday (yippee!) but I wrote some headcanons with a few of my fav characters from the fandoms I write for. Anyway have fun reading!
Warnings: none
Characters: Aro Volturi, Emperor Belos, Elrond, Shadow Weaver, Thranduil
Aro Volturi:
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Now, celebrating birthdays in the vampire world is a little bit different. Since most people at the palazzo have been alive for centuries, they don't really celebrate their birthdays every year. It's more like every decade or even every 100 years.
However, if Aro's mate is still human or a newborn vampire, they can expect to have a big party thrown for them. Even if they prefer solitude, they can expect to at least have the family invited. That being Caius, Marcus, Athenodora and Sulpicia.
Aro obviously gets his mate the best gifts. He can, after all, see their deepest wishes with a single touch. His mate had seen something online and thought "wow, it would be nice to have this"? Aro had already added it to the list of possible birthday gifts.
Obviously he would buy them more meaningful gifts as well. For example, maybe the mate absolutely loves a certain book series, well Aro would commision someone to make them a special edition of the books.
His mate can expect to find love notes and poems all over the place on their birthday. Aro is a gifted writer and he makes sure to capture all the things that he admires about his mate. Which is pretty much everything. Seriously, he can barely name anything he doesn't like.
The entire day is planned carefully by Aro and he intends to go through with his plan unless something absolutely crucial needs his attention. In that case, he promises his mate that he'll make up for being away.
Aro will ask them to dance with him to their favorite songs. Whatever the song may be, he would find a way to dance with them.
It brings him great joy when he sees how his mate has so much fun. Especially if they are holding his hand while doing so. Aro loves it when he can bury himself in their mind.
When the day is coming to an end, he takes them to stargaze outside of Volterra, somewhere not that affected by light pollution. They both would look at the stars and hold hands while doing so. Aro would whisper sweet nothings in their ear, possibly slipping into other languages while doing so.
His mate can definitely say that their birthday was amazing, if not the best birthday they ever had.
Emperor Belos:
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When it comes to Belos and celebrating birthdays, he actually prefers to not have a grand party for his beloved. He just thinks it would serve no reason and a private dinner or something similar means far more than anything else.
That being said, he is actually... hardly torn away from doing his Emperor duties. He must prepare for the Day of Unity after all. But after enough begging, he decides to humor his partner for a while.
I'm not saying that he didn't get them gifts, because of course he did. Belos is the type of person to hand-craft presents instead of buying them. He just feels it's far more personal that way.
Belos being the old fashioned man that he is, he writes them a heartfelt letter. As heartfelt as Belos can be of course. He would reminescence of their first date and the moment Belos realised he loved them.
Somehow the entire castle found out of their birthday, so the s/o can expect getting birthday wishes from most of the guards. Some (like Lilith, Kikimora and Hunter) even give them presents. Lilith and Kikimora just want to suck up to Belos of course, but Hunter's is more personal. After all, it's his uncle's lover.
As much as Belos denies it, he loves having matching things. So his beloved would get something for their birthday that matches something he owns. Perhaps it's a gadget he uses often, or a piece of clothing that he loves; he would get them something similar.
This day is the ONLY day he would allow them to wear his emperor outfit. Belos would watch them try to imitate him and would laugh along. After the day is over though, he makes sure to tell his s/o that they got their emperor-outfit-wearing priviledges revoked.
Obviously Belos knows everything on the Boiling Isles, which means that he knows all of the secret places that are just absolutely mesmerizing. He might just surprise his beloved with a trip to one of these places.
I believe at night, once the both of them are in bed, Belos would share some of his fond memories. That is probably the most sentimental his s/o had ever seen him. It's sort of a birthday present of sorts I suppose.
Now, if his lover REALLY wanted to have a big party, he might be convinced. He would use that to manipulate the Isles into believing that he is a kind man, but he would also just want to make his beloved happy. Belos is just a tiny bit twisted like that.
Absolutely the type of man who would ask for their s/o's hand in marriage on their birthday. I can just totally see that happen.
Elrond:
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Oh Elrond, beautiful Elrond.
Now birthdays are a bit questionable for elves as well since... well, they are immortal. But, whenever Elrond and his beloved would celebrate their birthday, the elven Lord would make sure to make it unforgettable.
Elrond plans the whole day of course (if his s/o agrees into the planning).
First, they would wake up and receive breakfast in bed. Elrond would stay with them the whole time, smiling down at them as they eat. After that he takes them on a walk in the gardens where they would talk for hours.
If someone happens to "accidentally" play some music in the distance, Elrond would ask his lover on a dance. They would talk while doing so and laugh along when they accidentally trip and fall in the grass.
After the walk in the gardens, Elrond takes his s/o back to the main halls and leads them to a room that is decorated just for them. There awaits them Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen with smiles on their faces. All of them would give Elrond's beloved a gift while the Lord waits patiently.
Elrond's gift wouldn't be too grand but it would be meaningful. Most likely it is something he made with his own hands. Like if his beloved wears jewellery, he would make them something out of their preferred materials. Since courting is taken very seriously for elves, I believe they wouldn't commision anyone for a piece like that like humans would. The elves make important gifts themselves as it's more meaningful that way.
After a joyful lunch with music involved, Elrond brings his s/o outside to celebrate with the rest of Rivendell. It's a very carefree party where the elves play music and dance around with or without the s/o.
Once nighttime comes around, Elrond will get them away from the party and bring them to a clearing where they can watch the stars in peace. The stars are very important in an elf's life, so why not spend the last hours of their birthday looking at them.
Elrond would tell his beloved how much he loves them while in the comfort of the stars. He would also describe their relationship using great many metaphors.
At the end of their birthday, they walk back to the party and dance the night away.
Shadow Weaver:
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We all know how Shadow Weaver loves gardening, right? Well, she would obviously put together a lovely bouqet for her s/o. It consits of their favorite flowers, or if they don't have any, flower in their favorite colors.
Shadow Weaver would wake her lover up by gently caressing their face and wishing them happy birthday once they open their eyes. After that she let's them eat breakfast before giving them the bouqet. It has a little note attached to it that is enchanted so it sparks little fireworks once it's opened.
Now, the sorceress is actually not that sure how to act in this situation because, let's be real, she did not partake in many relationships before. So her s/o will have to excuse if she's being a bit awkward.
She would get her beloved a cake, as suggested by Glimmer. It would be their favorite flavor and most likely would have frosting that is their favorite color.
Because Shadow Weaver is not very big on letting her feelings show, she wouldn't really give her s/o a speech about how much she loves them but she would try to write some of her feelings out in a form of a letter.
Once the s/o is ready, she will take them to her garden that is decorated just for them. It's more colorful than usual, but it still stays in the theme of the sorceress' taste.
Shadow Weaver would then lead them to a table that is decorated by candles. They would drink tea or something her beloved likes while talking. While outside, some residents of the castle would walk by to wish them happy birthday, especially Glimmer.
Once they're done with the little tea party, Shadow Weaver takes them out to a clearing in the Whispering Woods. There she reveals a picnic set up just for her s/o. While sitting and eating, Shadow Weaver finally gives them their present. It's something very personal.
The rest of the day consists of Shadow Weaver and her beloved watching the sunset and enjoying their picnic.
Thranduil:
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Once again, the elves are a bit different about birthdays but Thranduil sure does throw a big party. Wine for the whole realm and dancing all night.
But before he gets to that, he makes sure that this day is the best day his s/o has ever had.
Thranduil wakes his beloved up by whispering to them and wishing them happy birthday. He let's them have breakfast in bed, while he eats beside them. After the breakfast he gives the plates to a servant while they stay in bed for some more quality time.
When they finally get up, Thranduil takes them on a stroll in the garden. They walk around, simply talking. Once they found a place where they could sit down, Thranduil gives them their first gift. It's a very personal gift that he made himself (much like Elrond).
While his s/o is looking at the gift, Thranduil whispers in their ear in elvish, explaining just how much he loves them. They stay there for some time before heading back to the palace.
Legolas would wish them happy birthday of course. If he likes them enough, he might make them a little carving of sorts and give it to them.
Thranduil showers his beloved in other types of presents as well. If they like wearing jewellery, he would get them something that matches his. Perhaps his s/o would like another sword? Something that fits them perfectly but also just so happens that matches Thranduil's weapon?
Once Thranduil and his lover had finished with the gift giving, he takes them to the dining room where an exquisite lunch/dinner is prepared for them. Some elves are playing music while they eat.
When they finish, they go to celebrate with the rest of the realm. Thranduil opens up the wine barrels for everyone to drink and all of the elves dance around while singing songs.
The Elvenking obviously would ask to dance with his s/o while most likely already drunk. His partner can also expect to hear a speech from him that is adressed to the entire realm. He talkes about how important his beloved is and expects everyone to respect them as such.
If his lover is more anxious, then he swoops them away from the party to dance alone in a more secluded area. After all, he only wants them to feel great on their birthday.
The day most likely ends with the drunk couple entering their chambers and laughing as they fall on their bed. Alternatively, if his lover isn't one to drink, Thranduil still gets pretty drunk and his s/o can deal with a far more affectionate King.
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starrylothcat · 6 months
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For the 'sweet and intimate actions' prompts you reblogged, may I request some 12 (Character B tucking Character A’s head under their chin while they’re cuddling) with a touch of 13 (Character B nuzzling their neck and breathing in Character A’s scent/fragrance, and commenting on how nice they smell) with Rex and short fem!reader?
No obligation! (eternal-transcience)
With You
Pairing: Rex x Fem!Reader, but can also be Gen!Reader
Warnings: None. Fluff, fluffy fluffy fluff. Kissing, but nothing explicit. Established relationship.
WC: ~700
Summary: You and Rex share a morning in bed.
A/N: Hello @eternal-transcience ! Thank you so much for the ask. Rex is King and I haven’t written for him in awhile, so I was happy to get this request! I was possessed by the Fluff Gods and wrote this fluffy lil’ piece for you. I hope you enjoy it!
Prompts taken from Sweet and Intimate Actions list.
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You woke slowly, blinking sleep out of your eyes and stretching under the pile of blankets that lay on top of you.
You instinctively reached over, hoping your hand would meet the warmth of Rex’s shoulder or chest, but instead found empty mattress.
You frowned, knowing he had probably been up for hours working on reports. You never expected Rex to toss aside his duties for you, but sometimes he didn’t know when to take a break.
You sat up fully, ready to find Rex and drag him back to bed.
As your feet hit the carpeted floor, the bedroom door opened and Rex stepped in, holding two cups of hot caf.
“Good morning.” He smiled softly, the wrinkles you loved so much appearing at the sides of his eyes. It was something he was self-conscious about, but you lived to see those wrinkles, since they only appeared when he was smiling. When he was happy.
He set the caf down on your nightstand, kissing your forehead as he did so.
“How long have you been awake?” You asked, watching as he strode to his side of the bed, placing his caf down as he sat on the edge of the mattress.
“Not long. Figured you’d be up soon, thought I’d take it slow this morning.”
You grinned, settling back into bed as he did the same. Rex pulled you into him, placing his chin on your head, and tucking your face into the crook of his neck. He knew you loved this, being so close to him and safe in his arms.
“Taking it slow is something we never get to do.” You mumbled as you snuggled even closer to him, his strong arms draped around your smaller form, huddled entirely to his warm, solid body.
Rex hummed, stroking your back in gentle, rhythmic movements that made your eyelids droopy.
“I know…” He kissed the top of your head. “That’s why I’m back in bed.”
You removed your head from his neck, taking in everything that was him. He was basked in the early morning light, tanned muscle decorated with scars of different shapes and sizes that you have traced and memorized time and time again.
Rex was resolute in so many things. His duty to the Republic. His love for his brothers. His dedication to you. You will always be a loving and safe place for him, just as he is for you.
He was beautiful in all sense of the word. You couldn’t believe how lucky you were to have him by your side.
He must have been thinking the same as you as his gentle honeyed eyes met yours. He wordlessly brought a calloused hand to your cheek, capturing your lips in a long, worshipful kiss. You sighed against his lips, lightly running your fingertips over his buzzed head. He hummed in delight, deepening the kiss, his thumb stroking your cheek.
Rex laid you down on your back, covering his body with yours as he kissed you. You moved together in practiced rhythm, a loving dance that didn’t need words.
When you both finally parted for air, Rex gazed down at you with such reverence you felt butterflies explode in your stomach. He somehow always made you feel like you were meeting for the first time, enraptured by one another’s presence.
“I love you.” You whispered, mirroring his motion from before, stroking his cheek right below his eye. His eyes fluttered close at your touch, leaning into your hand. Rex slowly and carefully laid down on top of you, slightly off to the side to not crush you under his weight.
It was his turn to nuzzle himself into you, hearing him inhale and feeling him smile against your skin. “So sweet…” Rex rumbled, pressing his lips to your neck. “Always so sweet for me…” You felt his body relax against yours, his large hand finding your smaller one.
“I love you too, mesh’la. No matter where I am in the galaxy.”
You both lay there, tangled in one another, enjoying the quiet calm of the morning before you or Rex were called back to reality. The caf sat at your bedside tables, getting cold as you let yourselves be lost in one another.
It was a small slice of paradise, a glimpse of a peaceful life you could hopefully have one day, and you were going to enjoy every second of it.
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Taglist: @crosshairlovebot @sev-on-kamino @kimiheartblade @wizardofrozz @clonemedickix @sunshinesdaydream @kashasenpai @freesia-writes @multi-fan-dom-madness @aconstructofamind @dreamie411 @dystopicjumpsuit @wings-and-beskar @starqueensthings @idontgetanysleep @secretthegriffin @anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @secondaryrealm @littlemissmanga @coraex @maybethatfanfictionwriter @pb-jellybeans @wanderer-six @king-chaos-world @wolffegirlsunite @dukeoftheblackstar @523rdrebel @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @sleepingsun501 @cw80831 @dangraccoon @mythical-illustrator @din-miller
Dividers by @freesia-writes (Rex) and @saradika
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stellocchia · 5 months
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Thinking of Secret Life SMP hybrid headcanons right now...
Grian would be a parrotlet. They're the smallest group of parrots and I feel like with how pathetic he's been this season he deserves to be just a little guy. He's still a pesky bird who, as season 6 proved, can definitely cause some mischief despite his reduced size, but he's a little guy anyway.
Jimmy is not a canary. Because, yes, he may have the canary curse, but that's just a fancy name for the curse, not necessarily his hybrid type. No, my man is a dog. He's a goddamn chihuahua. He's all bark and annoying but you take a single threatening step toward him and he shivers in fear.
On the topic of dogs, Martyn is a pomeranian. I'm specifically making him a small dog too because, despite wanting to act cool at the end of session 6, he is still very much the one who was first on yellow and red. My man is not big dog-coded.
Now, unpopular opinion, but Scar is a raccoon hybrid. He's a mischievous chaotic menace of a man. A little criminal ready to scam, commit arson, kill, and steal. He's a raccoon. He hasn't burrowed under anyone's house yet (that I remember at least) but that wouldn't be out of character either. Honestly, I'm appalled by the fact that this isn't a far more popular headcanon for him.
And, before I move on from dogs, Etho is also dog-coded. Specifically an Akbash (big white golden retriever-looking fuckers used for the protection of livestock). I just feel like the protectiveness and overall vibe fit him very well.
Finally, moving on from dogs. Cleo is obviously a zombie hybrid. There are no two ways around it. Though this does allow for my little headcanon that, having to learn on their own skin how to sew they became really good and really quick and they're the ones making all the new outfits for everyone else.
Gem meanwhile is specifically a sculk hybrid. Though I like to think that that came about when she opened the portal. She was a deer hybrid before (mostly because I like the subversion of expectations with a "prey" hybrid so to speak being arguably the most bloodthirsty person on the server) and then it spread like an infection. I figure by now her infected half straight-up looks something like Belos monster for from TOH:
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Scott is something like a Reakirt’s Blue Butterfly. Both because the colors match him, and because he is kinda The Social Butterfly. My man is always out and about mingling with others. He's so friendly that he literally didn't struggle to pull off the "love you" challenge when everyone admitted that no one else would have been able to. It would be a waste not to make him some kind of butterfly at least.
Now, for Impulse I have something less reasoned, I just think the idea of him being an imp called Impulse is way too funny to resist. And he is way more of a mischievous one than I usually see people talk about. I've seen the phasmophobia stream where he killed everyone with the cursed items several times in a row just because he wanted to try them out. I know what he's capable of.
Meawhile his bestie Skizz is so capibara coded it's unreal. Like, don't get me wrong, he's plenty chaotic. But also you will never find anyone more lawful good in the Life Series than him. I've been thinking this since Love Island was founded. My man is the king of chilling with everyone. (Aside from Jimmy, rip Jimmy).
At the risk of being boring, I also like seeing Tango as a salamander hybrid. Exclusively because of the mythological connection between salamanders and fire. Also, the idea that every time he's flying (though it's funnier if it's also when he's simply jumping) he's nothing but a ball of fire with a lizard tail is very funny to me.
BigB is a hard one because I've only watched a couple of episodes from his POV so I'm not quite as familiar with the lore surrounding him as I am with the others. So I'm not sure. I want to say enderman because of his cryptid vibes this season, but he's not one of the characters with the biggest connection to the end. Those are mostly BDubs, Gem, and Lizzie, so I don't know. I'm open to suggestions.
Talking about BDubs, why are there no ender dragon hybrid headcanons for him around? I think it would be incredibly ironic if the dragon slayer was a dragon himself. Also, his house is under the Earth just like the End portals. Trust me, it makes so much sense. He's small but so full of righteous anger.
Pearl is no hybrid, she's literally just a witch. I've seen the WITCH animatic and that fundamentally changed my view of her forever. Before I would have said a moth hybrid of some kind because I do like moth Pearl, but I love that specific interpretation so much it's unreal. She is a witch with an army of hellhounds at her back and call.
Mumbo is a vampire because I've seen some art of vampire Mumbo at some point in time and it hasn't left my head since. Also, he's one of the players with the highest bloodlust every time he turns red. We're 2 for 2 on that with his appearances in the Life series. And it's usually also what leads to his demise. So I feel like that would be fitting for a vampire.
Meanwhile, my dearly beloved blorbo Joel is a honey-badger. This is a headcanon that is incredibly dear to me and I've never seen around but it's literally SO FITTING. The absolute crackhead energy, the lack of self-preservation, and the surprising sturdiness as time and time again he gets himself in impossible situations and still manages to survive until pretty much the end are all that exact honey-badger vibe. Like, just thinking of him summoning a hoard of zombies to fight off several infected and surviving for quite a while in those conditions just, really proves my point. Enough said.
Lizzie meanwhile is a very sad sopping wet cat. Just absolutely miserable. One of those cats who look like they're constantly grumpy. The frown has deepened ever since no one came to her party and she's still frowning in the void of death.
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probablyhuntersmom · 1 year
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Hunter's Experiences After Belos's Death
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Oops, this got long. Aw well, it was really fun to write.
Special thanks to @ashanimus!
This is speculative at the end of the day, but since:
1. This is my fave animated show of all time
2. I grew up with Complex PTSD (CPTSD) like Hunter
3. I work as a therapist,
I thought to list down some things I can visualize happening in the duration of the finale's timeskip, before that beautiful epilogue we saw. And I want to dive in using whatever clues, leads and parallels I can find in canon: to analyze and see how he went from the Bad But Sad Boy to that peaceful-looking palisman carver in the epilogue.
A small reference I had for this meta is Cinema Therapy's episode on the Hunger Games movies (link), since the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, from the book and also movie trilogy would have the same diagnosis as Hunter. Those books and movies explored how Katniss coped with the frightening and dramatically different landscape that was the calmness of her world post-victory.
Part 1: His Possible Experiences Leading Up to Seeking a Therapist
His disposition could possibly become like Luz's from early Season 3: a state of emotionally shutting down and numbing out. He appeared to nearly head in this direction right after he was revived by Flapjack, as he began to cry. There was that small window where he could have expressed more tears than he did, and have his body shut down under the weight of bereavement.
But the immediate physical threat, Belos, was still on the run. He got up, sprang into action and didn't catch a break from the time he followed Belos through the portal until he stood in The Collector's palace after Belos died (had he even received the news of his 'Uncle' dying yet??!).
Now that Belos isn't around anymore, the Isles will have a completely different feel and rebuilding the land would've taken grueling work after the dismantling of a damaging Coven System.
I was looking at Luz's behavior and gestures in Thanks to Them, which were indicative of her sinking into depression after 1. the horrible revelation in Hollow Mind that she unintentionally helped Philip. 2. witnessing Flapjack's death. I'm putting screenshots of her below in parallel with Hunter's own emotions in For the Future:
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They have different mental health conditions if you talk symptoms, e.g. Luz doesn't show signs of CPTSD hypervigilance, while Hunter doesn't have that slowing down in his physical and mental activity which points to depression. But both have suffered from moral injury thanks to Belos's violence and manipulation.
However, a major comparison is that Hunter has had much more repressed emotion over a long period compared to Luz. The column with Hunter screencaps above, is what he may feel with a much higher intensity in the weeks and months after he first hears that his abuser has passed on.
Shown below, the few seconds of Hunter's big smile drooping when it was all over, was a big hint for me:
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A hint that there is a deep undercurrent of emotions he'd much rather not feel, that he'd probably rather hide from himself. Even while smiling, we know how his heart-wrenching story has played out and the light in his eyes here doesn't match the brightness we see in his expressions in the epilogue, post-timeskip.
That is the face of a kid who has not cried out massive amounts of tears yet. He doesn't look like he's carrying a light load yet, compared to what we see in his future self. And it's certainly a heavier smile than the jollier one he makes here right after King's Tide when Flapjack was still around:
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I can't imagine the amount of grief that his body has yet to dredge up and release, once he finally doesn't have to worry about his 'uncle' threatening his life anymore. Too many times to count, I've been in the situation where I cry intensely after being retraumatized and think "Huh? More tears? Where did it come from?? I thought I had cried it all out from my whole being the last time!". It kind of convinced me that anyone with CPTSD has so much grief stored up in their body that the number of times needed to have a good cry feels like a really endless expanse.
However: because I had 7 years of being in and out of therapy, what matters is that the durations between these episodes of mine, the durations of the episodes themselves, plus their intensity have reduced a lot. It was around a 4-year timeskip in the finale, so for Hunter to get as far as he did to heal, his own therapy sessions would've probably been rigorous and very consistent.
Anyway, he might now cycle through his own version of what Luz cycled through when she gradually shuts down from failing to build a new portal door in Thanks to Them, continually believes she's as bad as Belos, and when she alludes to her suicidal ideation in the classroom:
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whereby there is a likely parallel between Luz wrestling with guilt from her own moral injury, and Hunter's own guilt from what he wished he could've done to prevent being possessed, to prevent Flapjack from dying. Both their situations are that of moral injuries.
The adrenaline rush would be over for everyone on the Isles.
I'm quite sure the therapists on the Isles will operate pretty soon after the news about Belos's death was out. They would conduct whatever version of mental health triage they have, that involves risk assessments and crisis counselling. Both of these based on what I've learnt are shorter in duration (30 minutes) and are one-off sessions, compared to regular talk therapy which is an hour minimum.
The therapists would be redirecting people to necessary resources e.g. where to find food or loved ones, and managing distress only related to people's immediate needs instead of forming a longer term plan for several weekly sessions.
I believe things are simpler when you are running away from an external threat, like the two Hunter scenarios below. In Hollow Mind there is no emotion on his face because in peak C-PTSD mode he has shut down his emotions to pour that energy into escaping Belos. In Thanks to Them, he appears quite obviously scared with widened eyes because he got comfortable with safety for months and Belos's return was a surprise attack (thanks ashanimus for pointing out to me how his expressions are animated!):
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But what is there to run from now? Not an external threat for sure. The war zone is now the one in his mind, heart and soul and it would become front and center. I believe both these screenshots are two notches on a dial, and the missing third image - which would show him finding it difficult to stuff down the grief any longer, might look like a more exasperated version of when he told Willow "Please don't call yourself [a Half-a-Witch] ever again" in For the Future, and eventually a more depressed version of his vanishing smile in The Collector's Palace.
When can he really run from himself? Only while asleep, if he's spared nightmares on any given night, or while distracting himself with the main mission of rebuilding the Isles or continuing to bond with his friends and other people.
His anger in For the Future was a telling sign for me that he made sure his focus was still on an external threat: he still had the opportunity to do so back then, because Belos was still alive. But when we see him in The Collector's palace sending Willow off to her dads, there has realistically been a shift in what will threaten the more fragile shreds of inner peace he's still clinging on to. There are those scary trauma-related emotions to worry about, which wouldn't have just evaporated into thin air. They would be looking for a new outlet, and they'll find their way into flashbacks, nightmares, tension still stored in the body, an exaggerated startle response, etc.
We have seen a range of reactions he has to danger, triggers and emotional pain: some involve moving his body more, and fewer involve a short of shutting down:
Flinching during Belos's tantrums, being able to fight Kikimora calmly, freezing up in the throne room (Hunting Palismen)
Suicidal ideation and even a sort of suicide plan (Eclipse Lake)
Freezing up and expecting punishment from Darius (Any Sport in a Storm)
Being able to stay almost entirely calm as he learnt more and more of the truth about Belos, though his hand was shaking briefly, then a panic attack later on (Hollow Mind)
Lots of avoidance symptoms like numbing, combined with hypervigilance e.g. shivering and another panic attack (Labyrinth Runners)
Feeling fear with underlying shame and subconsciously expecting punishment, when he failed to save Luz (Clouds on the Horizon)
Freezing and recoiling, though he fought against this by asserting a boundary with Belos (King's Tide)
Panic attack when looking into the mirror and having an emotional flashback, hypervigilance e.g. stamping his foot and shivering (Thanks to Them)
Anger and rage to cope with bereavement, later being tearful (For the Future)
Most likely a sense of bereavement, deep exhaustion and possibly loneliness, during that briefly shown moment in The Collector's Palace (Watching and Dreaming)
The serious work he has to put in to heal from his trauma would begin once his whole body gives in to the exhaustion, catching up with the bereavement-related emotions that have also begun to settle in. It could be a massive emotional and physical collapse that he can't fight off, where his physical energy levels become tanked seemingly out of nowhere. And I think it would look like a worse version of him lying in his makeshift grave, where he is barely able to move around the house or anywhere for some time.
This happened to Katniss in the Hunger Games trilogy, and while the portrayal was done differently in the books and movies, both were good explorations of what it's like to shift from the default high alert (and long-term) mode of CPTSD to coping with the scary unknown world of newfound safety. Katniss spent her childhood in poverty and being constantly on edge that she might be chosen for the Hunger Games, being parentified, to provide for her family.
While participating in the games, she had to utilize battle skills and kill others to survive and sustained many injuries, still constantly on high alert whereby any respite would last for incredibly short durations. Towards the end of the story, after she loses the one she loved most (her sister Prim, who I think can be a parallel of Flapjack in this meta), Katniss shifts from peak physical activity into mostly sleeping and being actively suicidal for months, hardly moving and not leaving the house, until the shock of traumatic grief began to wear off. She absolutely crashed and went from one extreme to the other. In the movie Mockingjay Part 2, they added a non-book scene where her grief comes out in an outburst when she sees their pet cat hanging around on the kitchen counter. She flings an object in the cat's direction, then screams "[Prim] is gone!!" repeatedly before collapsing into heavy sobs, picking up the cat and holding it to her chest to soothe herself.
This kind of major collapse might happen very soon to Hunter after he leaves The Collector's Palace or only after some weeks. The timing of this, I can't predict. The reason why he didn't appear to have this issue in the early months being in the human realm is because there was still something external to concentrate on: help his friends get back to the Human Realm, help Luz reunite with Eda and King, while him and Flapjack hoped to go home too.
You could argue that even now, he still has something external to focus on i.e. helping the others rebuild the Isles. However I keep imagining that the people who love him are going to be quite adamant in getting him, Luz and the other kids to please rest. Since we saw Steve recommend his therapist to Lilith in O Titan Where Art Thou, I can picture the adults in particular monitoring how Hunter is doing without Flapjack.
But if this collapse I'm speculating about doesn't happen so soon, he would be pouring himself into helping others, referencing his character-centric line all the way back in Hunting Palismen about wanting to offer help, which he utters twice in that episode. There is an overlap between this expectation he has of himself and the old habit he's at risk of falling back into periodically: overworking.
Once his desire to help others is clearly comes across as an avoidance tactic on the outside - a maladaptive coping mechanism to run from the very difficult emotions that he should be processing - people around him are definitely going to set boundaries and say "No" to any attempts he makes to assist them. Someone is probably going to tell him that whatever desperation he is showing in wanting to help other people, needs to be redirected at himself. Making time and space for himself, taking time off to rest.
Him suffering from a major emotional and physical collapse is pretty likely because things are more complicated (though, physically much much safer) for him now than at the beginning of Thanks to Them when he had just fled from Belos to the human realm, and had Flapjack as his closest company. Fast forward to the victory won in Watching and Dreaming: both Flapjack and Belos are gone now.
It's telling that different thoughts are occupying Hunter's mind now, from how his expressions are drawn during his first days in the human realm vs. when peace is restored in the Isles.
1. See the sense of calmer urgency in his expression, putting the mission of building the portal door first, while experiencing a strong sense of togetherness with his friends, and learning to trust Camila who is treating him well:
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compared to
2. the sheer exhaustion and feeling of "What now...?" (see his upper eyelids below?) that set in, once he helped Willow find her parents and there was no more task at hand that didn't involve himself. His bright smile from a split-second ago has drooped and disappeared:
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I know that right after the above frame, Darius and Eberwolf reunited with him, but his emotions are going to cycle up and down in the hours, weeks and months ahead. The elation from seeing Darius and Eber - people who were there to greet him when he expected nobody to turn up - is not going to last, though it will certainly come and go, because high-running positive emotions like that don't last as long, especially in the context of the life he's had as a child soldier. It's totally possible that on the same night, hours after this reunion with their loved ones, their emotions will shift drastically.
The tired look in his eyes above and the sad face he then makes, is in between two moments of him having something external to focus on (Willow and then Darius). I'm inclined to think that the above depressed look reflects a lot of the complexity that is going on underneath the surface. What is his state of mind when alone with his thoughts, when he has zero tasks to perform? How is he handling those thoughts?
There will be a deep, sometimes mind-numbing sense of bereavement over two significant figures in his life. First Flapjack, now this:
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He used to love Belos. But I'm really not sure he can just uproot that love from deep within and discard it. Hunter carries memories like the following ones around which will be confusing to navigate on tougher days, despite being able to tell Luz "That's what Belos does, he tricks people". Because these were his formative years:
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and something tells me that Philip was cunning enough to strike a delicate balance between being 'nice' to Hunter like above, versus unleashing his violent temper to terrify and harm him. Making sure that balance was so close to 50/50 that it would leave a child very confused. So confused he would rather believe he's never good enough rather than the more frightening prospect that his so-called family does not actually love him at all.
Hunter will have a moment now and then of still missing the 'niceness' that his 'uncle' showed towards him (felt in his heart and subconscious), while still knowing (in his head, rationally) that Philip was not genuine when treating him that way.
To note though, he did not witness Belos's death which reduces the severity of intrusive images that the poor kid would see in his mind.
What I'm worried about is how he'll handle the news about the grimwalker graveyard, since I'm sure that location is going to be scoured and Darius would want to give his mentor a proper sending off. They'd want to give all the Golden Guards and Caleb a sending off and pay their respects. This might add to what I suspect will be the messed up depression he'll fall into.
It will be very confusing and emotionally disorienting, literally not needing to worry about anyone killing him anymore. He has had no point of reference for this in his life at all. It might possibly the furthest he ever goes from that primal survival instinct he had while living in the Castle for so long, which took up the majority of his life so far:
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There will also be the added layer of how he feels about those first emotions. This is literally a concept called Feelings About Feelings and it's a key part of my work since I use the Satir Model in my style of counselling. We don't just feel emotions, we also tack on our own judgments and evaluations about them. E.g. shame about feeling anger, guilt about feeling sad because of burdening others, or even a combination like fear about feeling joy which can show up in healing from bereavement.
Depending on how we feel about whichever emotions got there first, it makes a difference because we could be adding or subtracting unnecessary suffering from the first emotion, especially if the first emotion is an already unpleasant one.
I have a feeling that we'd see Hunter look very very tired, till he makes breakthroughs in therapy. A tiredness that sleep, a healthy diet and exercise alone simply cannot fix. Because there's an entire upbringing in the Emperor's Coven to sort through in his head, this time not combined with the avoidance of having fled to the human realm and living under one roof with his friends.
The Hexsquad are not living under the same roof anymore, they are reunited with their own families with much to emotionally talk out, and the group no longer has a very urgent single collective mission. Sure, Hunter has an active role to play in rebuilding the Isles, but what about rebuilding his very self? He has the steepest climb, because we have seen the symptoms he exhibits.
Most of all, referencing a section of my Retraumatization and Self-Soothing (Part 1) meta (link), a memory as horrible as this:
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will likely be the most intrusive image is going to be replaying again and again over the months to come, and it may flood his thoughts during moments of being triggered or even out of nowhere during quiet moments for no apparent reason. It will be just like a broken record, where the same small excerpt of a song loops endlessly until the needle of the gramophone is repositioned.
It was remarkably poignant that his final words to Belos were "And most of all, I'm going to make sure you never hurt anyone again", and I'm happy with the story keeping it this way and understand why the writers likely made this decision - not just because the season was shortened. Hunter did not need to directly see or hear more from Belos in close quarters, not after his abuser minimized his needs for years, gaslit him, possessed him and got him to murder his best friend with his own hands.
It's more straightforward to make sure someone else isn't hurting anyone. It's easier to think of what plans to implement, when it comes to him protecting others: which he has had plenty of practice with. Because those are practical methods that we can see in action on the outside.
But here's the kicker: what about applying that last grand statement from his TTT speech to himself, emotionally: making sure he isn't psychologically hurting himself with harmful unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, after Belos's death? "I'll make sure I don't hurt myself (and by extension, my loved ones) again".
This will be very new to him, and it is a theme that I handle in pretty much every client case in my therapy work. The client's self-dialogue, the self-compassion or lack thereof. Which, in real life, is often not a concept that our own families and schools introduce to us to be familiar with.
For Hunter, this may translate into him making the decision to get help and truly accepting the gift of life that Flapjack gave him.
Basically this on a much bigger scale:
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whereby in Flapjack's absence, he can truly believe in this new and positive fundamental belief about himself. The evidence that he managed to make it to that heartbreaking but incredibly beautiful place is pretty strong:
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But before his happy ending, the pressure on himself to be useful to others via helping and working is likely going to come back and be used as his way of coping, and there's a chance it will cross the line into becoming a form of self-harm that he's relying on to avoid the frightening, deeper emotional pain. People around him know him well enough that they'll be able to spot his behavioral changes and then sense he is not going in a helpful direction. They'll see that it's hurting him even though it's the most familiar territory for his mind to be in, and someone is going to tell him to change that.
He's going to be seeing his friends with their palismen. How will it be like being among them, even if they are pretty good at supporting him? How would he attempt to make sense of the void that is the absence of the incredible love he experienced from that first friend, the absence of that mental link between witch and palisman?
What emotions could be lurking beneath the surface? Believe it or not, there are some signs from Luz's nightmare even though yes, Hunter was being controlled by The Collector. I wouldn't quickly dismiss this dark Flapjack-related scene as 100% being about The Collector's goal to scare Luz in the nightmare.
I think there was a smaller subplot going on as well.
The Collector needed material to work with in the first place, to perform the puppet acts: the material was whatever fears and whatever pain was already there in their targets.
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The Collector didn't create Hunter's emotions from scratch for the puppet act; instead he manipulated and redirected what existed at the base level. All this wouldn't work as analogies of mental illness vs. mental health if The Collector could just engineer emotions on their own and simply replace whatever his puppet targets were already feeling. Emotions never vanish and always take up space somewhere, they are redirected, transformed or channeled into outlets even if it means they become repressed or locked away. But they never stop existing.
I have a feeling that despite the nightmare being Luz's, despite Hunter being used as an instrument for The Collector to achieve their goals...the pre-existing emotions that Hunter himself felt in his body, not puppet!Hunter's verbal responses towards Luz, were true. He is a haunted boi.
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This face he makes above might be a hint at the worst of his pain. It might be the furthest he has felt from when he said "I like who I am right now" to Flapjack. In the place of that confidence from before, there might now be his own version of Luz's "I'm as bad as Belos". I cannot be entirely certain, but the negative belief that may have taken root in him could be "I am not deserving of the life Flapjack gave me".
Interestingly, if this is the case, it could easily parallel his line from all the way back in Any Sport in A Storm: "I'm unfit to wear the sigil of the Golden Guard." It's definitely a possibility, since Hunter is now faced with having a lot of time and space now, and less urgency than he's ever had in his life, to think back on all those times he helped to further Belos's cause. Especially when it came to sending many palismen to their deaths.
With his own palisman now dead, the engraving we would eventually see on Flapjack's grave: "Thank you for finding me", would be the destination. But the journey needed to reach that destination of amazing gratitude in the first place...must have been a harrowing one. In the early months of the acute grief, it would've been more like "Why did you have to find me?! You shouldn't have. Then none of this would've happened". Not forgetting the number of times Hunter has replayed in his head what he could've done differently, trying so desperately to rewind the clock and make that better alternate timeline a reality.
If you remove The Collector and even Luz from the equation in the Luz nightmare scene, Hunter may well be having such responses - the ones that puppet!Hunter directed at Luz to blame Luz - as a dialogue with himself. He might direct those negative emotions towards himself since he's so careful about hurting others and has taken on unfair punishment for so much of his life.
Even when he was temporarily himself, smiling, expressing a positive emotion to encourage Luz with "What's the first thing you do when you wake up from a bad dream?", that was him conversing with another person, someone external. Not his own self. I am willing to bet he wasn't at a point in his arc where he would smile at himself like that and easily encourage himself in the same way.
While we can be certain he had already reached his breakthroughs by the time we saw him post-timeskip, he has not experienced them yet in the frame above. He has not felt (yet) what Luz felt onscreen when she had breakthroughs in relation to her moral injury:
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Taking a leap of faith to accept the Titan's gift, to trust that he chose her because she has a good heart and will never be Belos.
Then later, being able to stand firm, believing she truly is good ("I am the Good Witch Luz!"), and not uttering a word to Belos as he died - which was post-traumatic growth beyond how she broke down under his threats and manipulation towards the end of Hollow Mind and later in King's Tide.
Recap time. In the (quite likely) long period that passes by before we meet his new palismen, he's likely going to want to jump into action and attend meetings with Darius, Eberwolf and co, help to physically rebuild things and organize people with his own Coven Head experience. Leaning back on the ingrained and familiar lifestyle of pouring himself into work and gearing towards burnout is certainly a risk to watch out for.
The Hexsquad, CATTs and the Clawthorne sisters are going to notice his behavior and likely urge him to get appropriate rest and seek help.
However, there is the other extreme: Belos isn't around anymore to torment him, and Hunter would know this in the rational sense (head knowledge). Which leads to the possibility that he may swing towards shutting down as opposed to overworking tendencies. He would feel allowed to do whatever he wants, in this new Boiling Isles, and he had months of opportunities to do that in the early part of Thanks to Them before Belos's return.
What I'm getting at is, if he didn't sleep enough before, he might swing towards sleeping too much after finally collapsing from the familiarity of survival mode into unknown but genuinely safe territory. If he cared too much about helping others before, he might swing towards a depressive state of apathy (the closest canon reference point would be him digging his grave: he was very disarmed in that scene to even think much about helping anyone including Belos). This is why the screenshot I used of his smile drooping in The Collector's Palace, feels like a big clue to me. This would be where Darius, Camila and other adults have to seriously keep watch over him.
In the Cinema Therapy episode I had as a small reference for this post, the licensed therapist who hosts the series mentions that "It takes a lot longer to put oneself back together than it took to fall apart." In Hunter's case, the "falling apart" period here refers to that collapsing I mentioned. It would be the time between:
1. the grief hitting him in full force: when he subconsciously understands and acknowledges that Flapjack isn't coming back (which...will involve hell of a lot of wailing and sobbing. Him having a full version cry of those first few tears he shed at the end of TTT),
and
2. the time when the painful shock from feeling the full force of the grief has decreased enough that it plateaus.
This falling apart stage may need to pass before he seeks therapy. If he tries going for sessions while still going through that shock and pain, it might be too much for him.
As terrible and sad as it sounds, a deep dark spiral like this might be necessary. It would be his body and mind wanting to compensate for several years' worth of unnatural hypervigilance which wasn't serving him in a advantageous way (i.e. surviving) any longer. His body and mind begging for rest at last, to try and make sense of everything that happened. This big collapse into depression would empty out the old and free up much room in him for new stories, beliefs and perspectives to take root. Depression is, after all, the body's attempt to (maladaptively) try and protect us by numbing us, or else we would be overwhelmed.
As someone whom we know keeps himself very busy, this could be the period where he is the furthest he has ever been from that old simpler life. Because his CPTSD-ridden body would be demanding more than ever that he compensates for a childhood and teen years' lack of general rest, he may not even have the strength to cope the way he did before. The only way he might possibly cope in this period is to go with the flow of that raging current and do exactly what his body is asking of him: getting real rest.
Like what happened with Katniss in the Hunger Games trilogy, this early grieving stage would emotionally be difficult and terrifying, like walking along a tightrope, finding balance between left and right to angle yourself as straightly as possible and walk forward. (the tightrope metaphor is what I use with some of my clients to explain swinging between extremes of coping mechanisms).
The missing pieces of the puzzle in his arc, in the 4-year duration before the timeskip, might be his own version of these points in Luz's arc:
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where she sank lower before she realized her deepest wish and emotionally experienced her worst fear in her Watching and Dreaming nightmare.
For Hunter, these could look like the following:
Like Luz saying it'd be better for everyone that she permanently stays in the human realm, Hunter might say he wants to remove himself from his loved ones in some way, for good. Whether a literal suicide attempt (like Katniss from The Hunger Games) or not, I can't say for sure.
A parental figure trying to reach out to him, saying he is deserving of Flapjack's gift. But he still struggles to believe that. What matters though is this parental figure is present and he's not pushing them away.
Him hearing some confirmation of his deepest negative belief about himself, in his own nightmares. Like Luz hearing the most terrifying things she could ever hear - Amity's "You've been the real villain this whole time" and "But for the sake of everyone you hurt, I challenge you to a witch's [duel]".
Him being able to reach an emotional space where he can begin to question that unhelpful belief: "Am I really deserving of Flapjack's gift?", or something similar.
The big moment when he finally tells someone how he really feels about the possession, Belos's death, Flapjack's absence in this new supposed peace and quiet....this would be the important invitation for the other person to connect and meet his emotional needs, and is a lot like how support groups for addiction work: a client needs to acknowledge that they are struggling with a problem, not avoiding it with distractions any longer, and then seek help and express their need for said help.
I suppose the question is how soon Hunter might decide to accept professional help and give it a go: or whether he'd have the genuine need for space first and say "I need some time". Because one's rational mind can be ready to go for therapy, but their subconscious and body would find it too unpleasant if it's too soon. Every part of him would have to be ready to begin putting himself back together after the falling apart stage occurs.
The messed up experience of CPTSD is that you stay shockingly calm during real danger, but on the flip side have big, disproportionate freakouts during actually safe times. Compare how calm Hunter was when he smiled at Luz in her nightmare while he was tied up with puppet strings vs. his fear and shame when he couldn't save Luz in Clouds on the Horizon. 
In a CPTSD memoir I read, the author describes that it was horribly frightening to hear her partner be in a bad mood and wash the dishes more loudly than usual, while during the pandemic, she felt completely calm seeing empty shelves in a supermarket when she struggled to get supplies.
From my own experience, I have experienced being pretty damn calm when bleeding out and needing hospitalization. But in a different year before that, I recall one afternoon alone in my house right before a vacation where a strong gust of wind very loudly slammed an open door shut next to where I happened to be standing, and I broke down sobbing from a retraumatization via an emotional flashback. Because it felt extremely real as if my abusive parent was lashing out to physically hurt me. 
After a 5-year period of mostly being in talk therapy, and then a 2-year period of regularly scheduled EMDR therapy, my response if I have a door loudly slam shut near me now would maybe be a smaller-scale flinch and a flash of anger that would last about maybe a minute. Which is miles better than sobbing for half an hour and being dissociated and frozen in a memory for hours before I thaw out of that flashback.
Since the show's writing is just that good, I could look at Luz's depressive symptoms manifesting in Thanks to Them and see a likely parallel in Hunter's story moving forward, since we know how much this show also digs neat and tidy parallels. These are characters written for TV after all, so they'd have to fit a formula to an extent, to have compelling arcs and reach high and low points along said arcs.
Part 2: Therapy Itself
Part 1 was the setup to give a good amount of context: now for the technicalities of the therapy sessions themselves:
Like Adrian Graye said in Labyrinth Runners, Illusion Magic can sort through memories. We have seen from Gus's own powerful Illusion abilities that he could do so with Belos. It makes sense that a therapist does this in sessions to have a magnified version of how in our world, therapists exercise empathy by imagining what it is like to be their clients:
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I would monitor whether his mood (what he is feeling within) and affect (how the emotions appear on the outside e.g. tone of voice, face expressions) are congruent. Congruence usually means a client is in less distress. Incongruence might mean they are in so much pain that they can't connect directly with the main emotion: the perfect example of this being Hunter laughing when digging his grave.
We therapists take note of aspects such as affect, mood, the client's motor activity, any indicators of psychosis, even down to things like how untidy their hair looks in case we get clues about the severity of their issues (this is called a Mental Status Exam, and we write what we see in our case notes per session).
Because CPTSD is so relationship-centric, I'd discuss how he's getting along with new parental figures (the Belos replacements who will heal him so much and change his life forever!) and friends.
If the Boiling Isles therapists use their own equivalent of EMDR therapy, which is theorized to be like a waking version of how REM sleep and REM-related dreams help our brains to sort through memories, it sounds like a great fit for his case. This intervention involves subconscious work and could help him reshape how he experiences memories of Flapjack and Belos. EMDR clients are expected to see vivid images popping up without control in their mind during the sessions, and they are quite symbolic e.g. seeing a grey sky often indicates grief, seeing lighter colors indicates more calm. This technique helps a client's subconscious rewrite their story the way they'd like it to be, and install new positive beliefs and emotions over time.
My own example of EMDR experiences from the second half of 2019 as a client, is it majorly changed how I related to my own abuser, got me to finally feel allowed to emotionally break away from her, even though she is still alive and even lives in the same building.
In the early sessions, I saw an image of my 5-year-old self being forced to wear an ugly grey apron that my abuser used for baking. The apron is a real object, not fictional, and the emotions I felt showing up were matching with the image: feeling very uncomfortable seeing a visual representation of my abuser's hold over me.
But in a later session after a few months, guided by my therapist, I saw a vivid image of my abuser receiving a sea burial. She was lying peacefully on the water surface and sank down until she was gone. That was me subconsciously burying any expectation that she could ever provide what I needed. This was so powerful that I could go home after that session and permanently (so far) be significantly calmer around my abuser.
Therefore if Hunter goes through something like this, he'd potentially be able to put Belos to rest and have it feel very real and true: and have significantly reduced distress about Belos-related memories. There is the potential for powerful breakthroughs for him here, especially also related to Flapjack's death and how challenging it might be to carve palismen in the beginning. Especially since in the worst case scenario, even touching palistrom wood might be enough to badly trigger him. I cover this particular point a bit more in my other meta, Retraumatization and Self-Soothing (Part 1).
We would also be discussing what he's implementing into his routine and what may benefit him. I would be seeing if he is able to laugh about things, be motivated enough to be outdoors and among people, experience pleasure when creating new things, and form closer bonds with parental figures (what I just listed is to do with neurotransmitters in the brain that increase mental health: serotonin, endorphins, dopamine and oxytocin).
If I were his therapist I might suggest that whatever volunteering tasks he does, he carries those out with his friends, and time should be allocated to managing and taking care of a specific demographic: children. Because I think it'd be a safe, low stakes form of unfamiliarity for him to have enough emotional distance from his traumatic memories. Early months of acute grief usually require such emotional distance.
Having a good dose of an environment like that alongside the other tasks where he's working alongside Darius etc, could help him because kids' emotions are less complex, and their infectious laughter and fun-loving nature may play a role in helping him be more open with his own inner child. His therapist would be seeking to draw out that inner child in their sessions, and that little child would need to feel safe enough to emerge.
Importantly, his future palisman: it would've been interesting if he did what Luz did with Stringbean and allowed the palisman to be whoever they wanted to be...that would've been a nicely organic process. But even if he had a good idea to incorporate a Flapjack-like design but change details like the color, I'm sure he thought it through very well. I'm certain that this was a major topic of discussion at some stage of his therapy. Discussing the guilt he'd feel about replacing Flapjack vs. still taking Flapjack with him in a new way.
Coming from a strengths-based angle: paying attention to which of his individual strengths he is shows and recounts in the session. If he needs reminding, I could give him a simple worksheet listing various positive qualities and ask him to circle/colour in which ones he feels he has, which then prompts further discussion and questions. Lastly, a powerful tool called reframing e.g. if he says he's worried about being a nuisance to his friends, I'll point out how much he cares about their comfort and affirm that place of kindness.
Work on inviting self-compassion into how he sees himself. Is he able to view himself the way he views his friends? If he remembers the encouragement he gave to Luz about "turning on the light", I would ask him what that would look like in his own life, symbolically.
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Hunter's own life has been a really really bad dream for a very long time. He himself has to reach for that light switch and choose to heal by embracing Flapjack's ultimate gift to him.
And we can rest assured that Hunter did that.
Because this post-traumatic growth right here?
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This looks like multiple breakthroughs have taken place while he's been receiving consistent care from an excellent community. And there's no way it was an easily won victory. It has been very much hard-won, after how dark the story became in Hollow Mind and Thanks to Them, and it looks like whatever breakthroughs he had left him pleasantly surprised.
It doesn't seem like his heart and soul can contain this much joy and hope, without a very painful dismantling to have taken place first, to make room for the most unexpected treasures to fill his life back up.
The joy becomes even greater if you never would've expected it in your wildest dreams.
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polyhexian · 1 year
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"thank you for finding me" god. God. I'm so fucked up about it. I'm literally tearing up again thinking about it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. There's this bit at the end of the movie Luca (love that movie) where Luca is ready to leave on his own adventure but he is worried about Alberto and he says "but if I'm not here how will I know you're okay?" And Alberto gets very teary eyed and he says "you got me off the island, Luca. I'm okay." And I keep thinking about that. Hunter was trapped in a cell with bars he couldn't see. He was a martlet in a cage. He was never going to leave on his own. He would have continued down that path down a cliff and straight to his own death. But flapjack found him. He is the one who saved hunter from himself, from the evil that had been placed around his heart to keep him in line. Flapjack found him and saved him and without him, hunter very well may never have broken away from belos- at least not alive.
And not just that but more metaphysically... Hunter was so lost. Hunter didn't even exist, he made it very clear in hunting palismen he had no idea who he was beyond the golden guard persona. Hunter was lost within that persona. He was a martlet caged within his gold stained heart. Flapjack found him. He found Hunter within the labyrinth of trauma and violence and gaslighting and manipulation that made up his whole world. He found him and pulled him out. Hunter couldn't have found himself if flapjack hadn't found him first.
Thank you for finding me...
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Archetype Exploration: Perfect Soldiers
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(Hey, please look at this blog's pinned post before reading this post; it gives a lot of context for the lens I'm looking at these characters through, k thx. also, shoutout to @finalgirl-nihilbliss for guessing the archetype)
CW: Abuse, Projection, Surface-Level Media Analysis
If your comfort character exhibits any of the following symptoms:
constant brooding
face frozen in a perpetual scowl
possession of a "dark past" they don't like to talk about
frequent blank stares into the middle distance
constantly trains for something uncertain
You may have just found yourself in the presence of a Perfect Soldier.
Perfect soldiers are characters who were groomed, often from birth, for the sole purpose of inflicting harm on their fellow man. These characters are efficient, tactically-minded, and above all else, violent. Perfect soldiers will often excel at combat and strategy, but struggle with emotional sensitivity.
Note that just because these characters are violent and closed off now doesn't mean that this is their natural temperament. Often, perfect soldiers have some kind of natural compassion that was stomped out through years of abuse training. This can come in the form of a sole loved one who tragically died, but more often than not, it simply manifests as a soft side sanded away.
If the Perfect Soldier doesn't start that way, who is to blame for their transformation? In sci-fi and fantasy, this transformation is usually caused by a morally corrupt institution built to churn out perfect soldiers (the Jedi Academy, the Galalunan Military Academy, the Space Marine Legions, etc.). Other times, perfect soldiers are groomed raised by a cruel and abusive father figure (Endeavor, Bro Strider, Belos, etc.). Some settings even blend the two by having an institution with a twisted general (think Shadow Weaver from She-Ra).
Typically, if a perfect soldier has a character arc, it's usually one of healing and letting go of their anger. This almost always contains at least two of these three steps in the order of your choosing:
The perfect soldier leaves the institution of their torment, either by circumstance or by excommunication. Once on the outside, they'll typically find that their raw might is irrelevant to their survival, and they'll instead need to rely on their lacking social skills. This exit from the comfort zone will prompt the soldier to learn a lot of people skills, typically leading to a "softening up" of sorts. Note that this doesn't have to be a literal escape from a physical place. Rather, it could just be a character being outside their guardian's zone of influence.
The perfect soldier discovers some imperfection with their guardian/institution. Perhaps there's some kind of inconsistency in its moral values. Other times, the soldier finds a secret the guardian/institution has been covering up. Whatever it is, this will prompt the soldier to question their leaders' infallibility.
The perfect soldier meets a person who shows concern for them in spite of the soldier's outward hostility. This outside party will likely witness or hear about the perfect soldier's tumultuous upbringing and take pity on them. This will likely prompt an attempt to reach out to the soldier, something which may or may not be rejected. Whatever the case, this act compassion will likely stick with the soldier, and prompt them to think about their own worth.
An arc like this usually resolves with a direct confrontation with the abusive mentor(s) who turned them into a weapon of war. If the soldier is a member of the supporting cast, this may come in the form of some heroic self-sacrifice, usually to protect the aforementioned outside party. Alternatively, if the soldier is a protagonist, their confrontation will likely be much more active, and may even be a proper fight. The soldier tends to win this fight either with the power of friendship or compassion but this isn't a strict requirement. If the writers really want to get spicy with it, they might even spare their tormentor, really leaning into the idea of abandoning violence (note that this runs the risk of coming off as a "forgive your abusers" narrative).
Alternatively, the lack of a grand confrontation can be a form of narrative resolution in and of itself. Living well is the best revenge, after all, and showing that our former perfect soldier has moved on to a happier, more peaceful life can be a far stronger statement of growth than a glitzy fight to the death.
(This is the part where I tie this whole thing back into the gimmick of the account. If you just wanted a Trope Talk style summary of the archetype, you've seen all there is to see. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to do your daily clicks.)
Why do you keep submitting this?
So, out of all the characters that I've seen submitted, this is easily the most prolific character archetype. At the time of writing, somewhere between 40-50 characters that have been posted roughly fit this archetype, and that's not including any of the characters I haven't posted yet.
Why do submitters connect this particular trope with trans women so damn much?
Firstly, it's important to consider that in most western fiction, the soldier is an inherently masculine archetype. From the classical epics of the Odyssey and the Iliad, to the superheroes and action stars of modern-day blockbusters, there's a very real conflation between a character's manhood and a character's capacity to do violence. A lot of mainstream military propaganda does the same, suggesting that men who enlist are more "authentically masculine" than those who do. This archetype serves as a critique of that idea; it shows us that this masculine ideal can be, and often is, a soul-crushing experience. In a sense, the idea of transitioning serves as an escape from this image.
Furthermore, it's important to consider what this character arc is actually about: a miserable character discovering that a better life is possible, and making steps to achieve personal peace. Often, these characters are fiercely loyal to the institutions that take advantage of them. These characters are often fine with it because they can't conceive of a better world. Once that's presented to them, that's when they start to leave. Frankly, given that a lot of people still don't end up knowing about trans folks until they're adults, I'm surprised more trans people don't connect to characters like this.
Finally, this arc gets back to the core question at the center of this blog: could transition have saved her? The archetype, in its construction necessitates a level of misery, ergo it implies that the character needs saving. It's no wonder these characters tend to garner a lot of Hurt/Comfort fanfic (Anakin Skywalker alone has more Hurt/Comfort fic than some of my favorite fandoms period). There's an inherent desire for these characters have better lives, and maybe some estrogen could do it.
This is my best guess, anyway. If you have thoughts, feel free to share them.
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mandareeboo · 2 years
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Things I’ve noticed while re-watching Owl House:
Eda’s been living on borrowed time since season 1. She thought she was going to disappear on that bridge, and she certainly didn’t expect to have her time non-feathered to be doubled. That (and other things) has led her to be much more willing to die in season 2- she isn’t running anymore, but she’s not fighting much either. She plans to go out with Raine. She plans to hand herself over to the Emperor. She plans to die on the Day of Unity with Lilith as long as King and Luz are far, far away. Finally she plans to die in front of the entire city of Bonesborough to give Luz and King a better future
Eda put a LOT of work into being Luz’s mentor. It’s not really mentioned but in episode four she states that she “hasn’t figured out how old Witches performed magic”, but in Adventures in the Elements she has a whole training itinerary planned around elements and how connecting was/is important to old Witches. We also see she had a GIANT stack of overdue library books. I’m willing to bet she put a lot of time and reading into helping Luz with her glyphs.
Luz probably overheard Camila’s statement about Vee being “such a strong girl” and may have been somewhat hurt bc Camila implied she’d not had that before. It’s not intentional on Camila’s part but we all know Luz goes the extra mile to feel ashamed.
Even though Hunter tells Luz to stop messaging him he still apologizes when he sends her a photo of Flapjack. Idk I just think that’s polite and cute.
Of the covens we know the least about Construction magic. With Oracles we at least know about their mummy things they bring out. All we know about Construction is power glyphs and that they seem to almost earthbend
If Alador hasn’t had a day off in five years but has only recently stopped talking to the kids bc of the Abomatons that implies he was still socially active in their lives to some degree.
Belos saying Hunter looked the most like his brother while also having given him that big fuck off cheek scar makes me feel like at one point he really hated that and tried to “change” it
Luz and Hunter are the only characters in the show to have had any prolonged discussions with Belos. Even Kiki only got a few orders and jabs and that’s it. Just a subtle bit of his distaste for Witches even today.
Likewise Luz and Hunter both share the common denominator of being scarred by Belos
Even though Boscha keeps her word not to outright bully the gang after losing in Grudgby she still keeps surprisingly intertwined in their day-to-day lives, even stopping by Luz’s club to pester her AND seeming to be legitimately interested in Luz’s life goals. I feel like in Boscha’s mind she sees it as like. Rival pals.
Despite being a giant bigot Belos still called Kikimora “Kiki” once or twice. It literally doesn’t matter I just find it hilarious. “I hate Witches and witchcraft but I draw the line on not using nicknames.”
Considering King didn’t live in his hatching place OR have the engraving on his collar for like eight years of his life if the Collector hadn’t been busy with Belos he likely would’ve found him instantly with the wanted posters
Lilith saw Eda as “dangerous” and “misguided” and I think a lot of that drew back to when she witnessed the Owl Beast attack and permanently disable their father
Raine only knew Eda for like seven months before she became cursed. They’ve literally known her for most of her life but almost all of that time came from after that point. Idk I just think it’s interesting bc Eda always saw her curse as a burden but to Raine it’d been part of her life so long they probably feel like it’s just... her.
The Day of Unity had basically nothing to do with Phillip going home, it was just a “fuck you all and die” as he left.
I feel like no one really talks about this but Gwendolyn and Dell are Wild Witches. Yes they're both in covens but Dell is secretly regrowing damage done by Belos and Gwen seeks outside-coven help AND steals magic artifacts to try to heal Eda, like none of this is legal
Also I feel like no one talks about how the pain sharing spell and the fist raising Eda and Lily do as kids is probably Wild in origin. No one else uses verbal spells and we've seen organized witches duels today and they don't do that gesture.
Vee is a very quiet and easily panicked girl and while that's perfectly natural after all she's been through when 'Luz' came back from camp Camila probably assumed the worst
Unless we get a flashback to King’s dad or a flash-forward to grown-up King we will never see a grown living Titan.
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catboymoments · 7 months
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Hunter later down the years: Yeah belos may have torn my body internally and scared me badly when he possessed me but on the plus side I got 6 inches taller
Ok one of my mutuals said this a little bit back and I know this is probably not the response you’re looking for but I need to get this off my chest wrt my thoughts on s3
I think there’s something to be said about that whole plot point that goes unsaid most of the time. They could’ve done more with talking about how traumatic that must’ve been for Hunter, but instead they chose to only make it about Flapjack. Don’t get me wrong I love that bird, but so much of Thanks to Them was about Hunter reclaiming himself as a person and being a kid and finding out what he likes and having autonomy, and then they never touch on it ever again after so much of it is ripped away? They really could’ve done something with recovering from an event like that and how he felt about being quite frankly Violated, but the only thing they ever mention is losing Flapjack. I get it, it’s a grief metaphor, but if you’re gonna include a plotline with an adult taking physical advantage of a child’s body that leaves them scarred, feeling and looking older, and that adult treating them as a thing to have power over and not a person… not touching on the after effects of it and connecting that metaphor just makes said trauma seem gratuitous and there for shock value. Yes I know I’m probably looking too much into it, but with Everything Else it’s something that just makes me go. Hm.
Maybe I should fill in the gaps myself with a comic or smth?
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cookiesaddict · 1 year
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I feel like Belos never intended to murder his brother. His body position shows that he is not walking towards Caleb with the knife. His head, chest etc is not directly facing Caleb but facing the other direction. I believe Philip is walking towards Evelyn with the knife, and that he intended to kill her, not Caleb. And Caleb is just trying to defuse the situation. Masha did say Belos wanted to safe his brother and bring the witch that took him to justice.
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Which left us with three options that I can think of happened:
1) Belos accidentally killed Caleb. He wanted to kill Evelyn, but Caleb got in between to protect Evelyn and unintentionally got the blow.
2) Belos wanted to kill Evelyn, but got himself lost in anger and he ended up accidentally killing Caleb instead.
3) Belos wanted to kill Evelyn at first, but then he realized that Caleb won’t be able to be saved because he was too far gone. So Belos decided it was better to kill them both.
Lots of people here on tumblr pointed out that Belos kept Caleb’s jacket. But may I add that not only did Belos kept Caleb’s jacket, but Caleb also carved him a mask during their childhoods, and decades later he used the same design for his mask as emperor.
Not only that, but he also kept the doodle of him and Caleb after the murder. Yes, it was after the murder because Philip’s beard is longer. He already had the titans blood, no need to keep it but he did. It doesn’t matter if Caleb drew it or Belos himself, he still kept if after the murder. He even made countless Grimwalkers to have some version of his brother with him, knowing full well they will all eventually betray them when they find out the truth.
This man is dealing with unresolved grief and guilt in an unhealthy way, desperate to cling to anything that links to his brother and his past. “Because of you, we can finish our work as witch hunters together”. Belos says, while possessing Hunter, which is a Grimwalker of his brother. In his mind, he’s in Caleb’s body now. He is now together with his brother. This line shows that Belos desires for normalcy and that he can’t let go of the past, he wants things to be how they where when he and Caleb were still witch hunters. Before Evelyn, before the boiling isles, when it was just him and Caleb and no one else. Which is why I think he created grimwalkers of Caleb, it’s the desire for normalcy and return to the past but also the grief and guilt he is experiencing.
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According to Belos, he committed genocide because he wants to safe humanity. It looks like that he has a god complex? But I think Caleb might have played a role in it as well as to why he did it? “Our family is gone because of wild magic”. I won’t be surprised that if Belos blamed the witches for Caleb’s murder rather than taking full accountability. I think he has that if these witches didn’t brainwashed Caleb, I wouldn’t have killed him mindset. And what better way of revenge is to destroy the world and everything in it that took his brother away from him?
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I’ve seen fans wondering why spending decades around witches, Belos still sees them as evil rather than good. Well, he feels guilty for murdering his brother and is hiding behind his beliefs as an excuse I think? Like I said, he is blaming his death on witches. Admitting that witches are good, is admitting you’re brother was right and that it is your fault he is death. I think deep down he knows witches are good and that he’s in the wrong for murdering Caleb, he is just being a hypocrite?
Belos has complicated feelings towards Caleb. He is angry with Caleb for abandoning him for witches (in his eyes he did), but at the same time I think he loves him. He has good memories of them together which he is unanable to let go off. Like I said, he is grieving him. Remember, Belos and Caleb are orphans. Belos lost his parents, his brother was the only thing he still had. The one who raised him. The one who didn’t abandoned him. Caleb wanting to stay the boiling isles must have hard for him.
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All of this what I just described. The guilt, grief, clinging to anything that links to his brother and past, such as his coat. The grimwalkers, the desire for normalcy, I think option 1 and 2 is more likely rather than option 3. Especially if Evelyn is pregnant, which she seems she is. Caleb was about to have child with a witch. Most likely in his mind, he wanted to kill Evelyn and it’s offspring, take his brother home, and unbrainwash him so they can be witch hunters once again. So yeah, I believe Caleb’s death is more of an accident rather than intended.
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Take what a wrote about Belos with a grain of salt. So please be nice! This is how I view Belos, and I’m aware that I could be wrong. Season 3 is still going on, and everything that I have written can still be disproved. Belos is a complex character, which makes it difficult to analyse him. Which is why I love Belos, because of how complex, interesting and well written he is. I always feel I should add this whenever I write about Belos: even though I like Belos, I do not condone his actions. And I’m not excusing his behavior in any way. What he has done is by all means not okay, and plain out disgusting.
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she's sitting in belos's throne, wearing belos's clothes, carrying herself like belos does. luz was tricked into helping belos, so she holds herself responsible for every atrocity belos has done over the centuries. to luz, it may as well have been her doing all of this.
belos says they're not too different. they were both the only humans in a fearful and fantastical world. they were both curious about the magic of the isles, and did extensive research to master it. for a while, luz even looked up to phillip wittebane, and WANTED to be like him. She tells belos they're nothing alike, but luz feels like belos's success was because of her, making her responsible for everything.
she's wrong, of course. phillip wittebane didn't become emperor belos because one 14 year old girl showed him a glyph one time and helped him find an ancient god. he was already planning to wipe out witches. he had 350 years of chances to stop his quest to kill the witches and he didn't take a single one of them. phillip's trajectory to becoming belos was 350 years of never questioning his faith, his morals, or his humanity.
luz helped phillip one time. but everything else was a series of phillip's own decisions to do evil. luz's friends were right. if luz weren't there, phillip would have tricked someone else into helping him get whatever he needed to eventually become emperor belos. after luz left, he DID trick countless people.
luz doesn't want to hear that, though. luz starts off with the assumption that she didn't want to exist. and her being responsible for belos's crimes, her ruining the lives of her family and friends, and her generally not being a good person, are all hoops she jumps through to justify to herself that the first assumption was correct. and all of these lines of thought are, of course, untrue.
luz is trying to convince herself that, despite how much she doesn't want to be, she is just like belos. because belos has the blood of thousands on her hands over three and a half centuries, she does as well. but the audience can see that isn't true. Belos used to be a child. He was hurt by his society but instead of moving on from the hurt he leaned into it and become a monster. Luz has been maturing since coming to the isles, and would never make the choices that belos did.
Just look at the difference between this shot and the shot where belos was introduced in season 1. Luz hasnt manipulated countless guards to stand as her entourage. She hasnt violated the laws of nature to create and abuse a child in the shape of a dead man. And belos, after centuries of cruelty, is grandiose and intimidating. He fills the throne and gives an aura that threatens to destroy you if you stepped out of line.
But luz? She is a child. She is alone. look at her sitting on belos's throne. her feet don't even touch the ground
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sepublic · 1 year
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The Owl House Timeline
-Millennia Ago; The Archivists encounter the Demon Realm and send the Collector to play with the young Titans; The Collector meets the Titan known as the Boiling Isles, and comes across King’s egg; The Archivists commence a war against the Titans, who resist their attempts to turn every living thing into scrolls; Due to Titan magic countering their own, the Archivists enlist the help of the local demons, Bill among them, and create the Titan Trappers; An Archivist transforms the Owl Beast into a scroll, only to lose it in the ocean; The Boiling Isles Titan hides King on a remote island, shielded from the view of Archivists, and appoints Jean-Luc as the guardian. 
-The Collector is imprisoned in the in-between by the Boiling Isles, who is the last Titan alive; Hooty comes into existence after this during a hunt; The Archivists disappear from the isles; The Titan blows out Bill’s eardrums in a final battle against the Titan Trappers; The Titan escapes to the other side of the planet and ‘dies’, but due to her heart still beating, lingers as a ghost watching from the in-between; Bill communicates with the Collector using one of the moon discs, worshipping them as the Grand Huntsman, only to lose contact when the disc is broken; The Titan Trappers find the Boiling Isles, but are unable to locate King’s egg to free the Collector; Bill’s generation eventually dies out until he is the only one left, leading new generations of wannabe Titan Trappers; Hooty leaves the Boiling Isles’ eye.
-Hecktaceous Period; A Stonesleeper is transported to the Titan’s skull and placed as guardian; Luz Noceda briefly visits through a time pool.
-Witches and demons evolve from the Titan’s corpse; They initially learn glyphs by communicating with the Titan’s spirit on her knee, but eventually rely on their bile sacs instead.
-Thousands of Years Ago; The Bat Queen is carved and abandoned by her owner, a giant, after being wounded; She begins looking after other mistreated palismen in solidarity.
-Circa 1600s; The Deadwardian Era begins.
-1613; Young orphans Philip and Caleb Wittebane arrive in Old Gravesfield.
-Evelyn Clawthorne and Flapjack enter the human realm using an archway powered by Titan’s blood, and befriend a teenage Caleb; Evelyn and Caleb communicate using hidden rebuses, and a vial of Titan’s blood is buried outside the archway in Gravesfield.
-As an adult, Caleb moves to the Boiling Isles’ right arm with Evelyn permanently, marrying her. Philip enters the Boiling Isles through Eclipse Lake, emerging at the Knee, and discovers the Ice glyph.
-Circa May 21st, 16XX; Philip begins writing a journal documenting his journey in the Demon Realm.
-Five years after his arrival, Philip returns to Eclipse Lake and retrieves Titan’s Blood to build a Portal back home, emerging the only survivor; Philip absorbs Palismen essence to gain an advantage over witches, beginning his curse and slowing his aging; Philip reunites with Caleb, killing him and being chased off by a pregnant Evelyn; Philip discovers the Plant and Fire glyphs.
-1635; New Gravesfield is founded, replacing the town’s older layout.
-1660-70; Years after entering the Demon Realm, Philip Wittebane encounters Luz Noceda and Lilith Clawthorne, who travel from the future to meet him; Luz teaches Philip the last glyph, Light; Philip meets the Collector, and encounters the Stonesleeper he will use to create his first Grimwalker of Caleb; A Portal is made using the Titan’s eye that leads to Philip and Caleb’s childhood home, but ends up buried next to Evelyn’s archway.
-1693; “Witches eating babies” -Eda
-Philip creates his first Grimwalker of Caleb; Philip assumes the identity of Belos and claims to speak on behalf of the Titan, espousing the coven system; Belos and his Grimwalkers stage false flag attacks in order to scare the populace into believing them; A city on the Knee is abandoned as a result of one of these incidents. 
-A teenage Hieronymous Bump destroys a rival school resembling Glandus with his fellow students; Hexside is built atop the ruins.
-Circa 1972; Belos becomes Emperor of the Boiling Isles.
-1970-75; Caleb and Evelyn’s descendant Lilith Clawthorne is born; Two years later, her younger sister Edalyn Clawthorne is born.
-Eda, Lilith, Alador, Odalia, Darius Deamonne, and Perry Porter attend Hexside, with Principal Faust in charge; Despite or because of his role in Hexside’s founding, Bump is Vice Principal; Faust breaks up with Terra Snapdragon, who takes their home, forcing Faust to live at Hexside.
-1990s; Cosmic Frontier is published.
-Circa 1992; Eda meets Raine Whispers and Terra at IFWOT; Raine transfers to Hexside; Bump replaces Faust as Principal of Hexside; Eda is cursed by Lilith using the Archivist’s Owl Beast scroll; Lilith joins the Emperor’s Coven, and Eda discovers the Portal, emerging in the Wittebane house at Gravesfield; Eda watches Dragonclaw Z in the human world; Petrifications ‘officially’ end as a means of capital punishment.
-Darius is mentored by the Golden Guard; Darius has a falling out with Alador and Odalia; Alador wins the Bonesborough Brawl; Coven sigils are introduced and mandated; Raine and Eda break up; Raine joins the Bard Coven, only to realize the system’s corruption, and begins a campaign against it from within; The Golden Guard dies, and Lilith is appointed as the Head Witch of the Emperor’s Coven when Belos realizes she will travel to the past to meet him; Alador and Odalia marry and found Blight Industries together.
-Circa 2006; Emira and Edric Blight are born.
-Circa 2007; Skara is born, followed by Willow Park; Vee is the fifth basilisk to be cloned by Belos.
-Circa 2008; Luz Noceda and Amity Blight are born.
-Circa 2010; Augustus Porter is born.
-King Clawthorne finally hatches from his egg.
-Circa 2014; King is found and adopted by Eda.
-The Nocedas move to Gravesfield.
-August 22nd, 20XX; Manny Noceda succumbs to his illness and dies, leaving Luz the first book in The Good Witch Azura series.
-Luz becomes obsessed with The Good Witch Azura.
-Amity is forced to sever ties with Willow during her birthday.
-Circa 2017; Alador has his last weekend off before Odalia forces him to work overtime.
-Willow meets and befriends Augustus Porter.
-Circa 2021; Tibbles finds The Good Witch Azura books washed ashore the Boiling Isles, and sells them to the Book Nook; Amity is the only one who buys them and becomes obsessed.
-Eda begins selling human garbage at Bonesborough as a side gig.
-Amity leaves the Hexside Banshees, quitting Grudgby entirely; Vee and Numbers Three and Four escape the Conformatorium.
-Summer 2022; Luz Noceda enters the Boiling Isles, while Vee enters the human world.
-Mason is promoted to Head Witch of the Construction Coven after the yearly Covention, in time for Luz to attend her first day at Hexside.
-Hunter is appointed the new Golden Guard by Belos.
-Scooter Crane retires; Raine Whispers is appointed as the new Head Witch of the Bard Coven; Tarak sees King’s video while visiting the Boiling Isles and mistakes him for another Titan Trapper’s estranged son, dropping off an invitation letter.
-Luz and Lilith travel through a time pool and encounter Philip Wittebane in the year 1660-70.
-August 22nd, 2022; Reaching Out takes place.
-The Day of Unity occurs; The Collector is freed by King and stops the draining spell; Luz and her friends (and Belos) are stranded in Gravesfield after the Portal is destroyed; The Collector turns the population into puppets, and builds a palace out of the Titan’s skull.
-October 29th, 2022; The Hexsquad discovers the rebus left behind by Caleb.
-October 30th, 2022; The Hexsquad locates Evelyn’s vial of Titan’s Blood; Belos infects Hunter’s body.
-October 31st, 2022; Belos kills Flapjack, and Luz and her friends return to the Boiling Isles.
-November 1st, 2022; For the Future takes place.
-November 2nd, 2022; Luz befriends the Collector and destroys Belos once and for all; The Titan passes on.
-2026; Luz graduates from high school and has her 18th birthday.
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captainkirkk · 4 months
Text
✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩
All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.
ATLA
all my skeletons out for the taking by 136108
Azula wins the Agni Kai, and the playing field shifts.
The Owl House
Grom Knight by ObabScribbler
Belos is dead. The Collector is defeated. The portal door is working again and everyone now just has to move on with their lives and rebuild normality as best they can. This is easier for some than for others.
When Willow invites Hunter to Grom, he assumes it is so that he, as a non-student of Hexside, can still be there to help Skara in her duties as Grom Queen. Emerald Entrails stick together, after all. Clearly there could be no other reason for Willow to invite him. This is all set to be a simple, friendly combined dance and fight with a demonic entity that reads minds and conjures your worst fears into reality. No biggie.
Except with Boscha and her crew of bullies around and feeling braver than ever, this Grom might not be as simple as they all hoped. Especially when Hunter discovers that being the reincarnated container of hundreds of years of Golden Guards' fears is a bad thing to be around a fear demon.
Clone Wars
and through the spaces of the dark by blackkat (+ podfic)
Jon's attempts to avoid a war he wants no part in are ended when Dark Woman drags him to Coruscant and straight to a posting with the Guard. He intends to keep his head down and do his work, but the mysteries around the Guard - and Fox - immediately have him in out of his depth and on uncertain ground.
Nine Worlds / The Lays of the Hearth Series
Friday Keeps Coming Next by rattyjol
Cliopher's first morning with the Sun-on-Earth was everything he could have dreamed of, until it wasn’t.
or: Cliopher and his Radiancy break time. Again.
soon, they said, if not today by Ariaste
Cliopher passes the Imperial exams on the first try.
It changes everything.
one for sorrow, two for joy by Ariaste
The Emperors of Astandalas did not have daemons.
Cliopher knew this could not, technically, be true. Thinking this thought, even in the quietest whisper in his deepest heart of hearts, was undeniably treason, but…. facts were facts: The Emperors of Astandalas, though worshipped as gods on earth, were each of them born a human being before they were apotheosized by the crown and by law and custom. Every human being had a soul; therefore, every human being had a daemon.
So the Emperors of Astandalas must have had daemons.
But by tradition and ritual and magic and taboo: The Emperors of Astandalas did not have daemons.
you laugh and you gleam with that roguish air by lindsayraindrops
Notorious rebel-poet Fitzroy Angursell is captured and brought to the Palace of Stars. Cliopher... copes.
(A reunion.)
with a winged heart by celebros
"Cliopher. Cliopher. Cliopher."
I blink. It's Conju, standing with his hands on my shoulders, and I go to answer him and realize that I am already speaking, babbling, and Franzel is behind him, wringing his hands and looking near tears. I try to focus on what I'm saying, but it's like a stream, light and splashing past me, too quick to hold, not enough to catch, somehow, somehow –
(A few weeks before the start of the viceroyship ceremonies, Kip finds himself the unwitting recipient of a truth serum)
The Virtue of Being True by electropeach
"You're under an enchantment, Cliopher. The good news is that the protections his Radiancy has placed on you have shielded you; the bad news is that the protections that block the spell are also reflecting it, meaning that instead of you it affects everyone who comes near you. You may have noticed an unusual propensity for candor in your vicinity today?"
A reverse truth serum plot leads to Cliopher having a very strange day.
even a cat may look at a king. by mage-pie (looselipssinksubs) (Note: This fic is marked as abandoned, but it has some really great scenes that it's still worth a read imo)
"Hello, hello, hello!” said his Radiancy’s serval. She said it, in words, in Shaian, in a pleasant voice that came from her little snout quite naturally. “Good morning!” “Good…morning…?” said Cliopher, too shocked to control his voice. His mongoose got out of his bag and scrambled up onto his shoulder with an excited little squeak, her claws prickling through the tunic. “I have good news and bad news!” the serval continued happily. “Don’t you want to know what it is?” Cliopher could only stare. “Good news, I’ve figured out how to talk!” She lashed her tail excitedly, and finished with her voice full of enormous glee, “Bad news… I’ve figured out how to talk.”
The entire city of Solaara wakes up one day attached to magical animals that display each person’s innermost self with no regard for court protocol or even basic manners. It’s pure chaos… and that’s before the Emperor accidentally gives the soul-animals the power of speech.
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eldritch-spouse · 2 months
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Ey, remember the beating an Imp with a salt container ask?
That, but Belo and Jonsey going to visit a human they meet on a job once, are a little confused feelings wise, and finding them beating the shit out of an Imp with a salt container
Oh, things are taken care of much faster in this case.
Belo has no compunction bulldozing through the house to find you, and if the imp wasn't shitting themself before, they are now. Belo barks an order for you to get back, in a tone with a level of authority lessers can't hope to disobey. His weapon is summoned and launched forward. The likely result is clean decapitation. Belo is clearly rattled by all this and starts searching the imp. Where there's one, there's more, so you're not safe. Then he checks you for damage, and although his specialty isn't healing, he will cry on you if there are any especially painful looking spots. Belo stresses that you aren't safe and shouldn't stay in this location for long. He already took an unnecessary detour just to check on you, he might have to come back for you when his mission is over. You're too useful a lesser to allow imps to catch... Belo may not entrust you with a holy weapon, but he'll give you one of his feathers. It both repels the demonic and can be stabbed into a demon's flesh to cause excruciating pain.
Jonesy is not built for combat. But all late-generation top-tier angels have built-in forms that allow them to deal with high-stress situations where protection is necessary. Thankfully, that's not required here. Jonesy studies the scene for a few seconds and send his largest halo flying across the room, it easily dodges you and cuts clean through the imp's head, splitting it in half. Likewise, he stresses that you're likely to get targeted by more demons after this. Though, unlike Belo, he has the privilege of taking you back with him. You will come back with him. You're been deemed valuable enough to enter Lady Miara's island, a place where no foul demonic entity may lay it's dirty fingers upon you.
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